Direct Motion

Meaning

A planet is direct when, seen from the Earth, it is moving forward through the zodiac in the usual order of the signs: from Aries towards Taurus, from 13° of a sign into 14° [1]. This is the normal state of every planet most of the time. The Sun and Moon are always direct; the other five traditional planets spend most of their cycle direct and part of it apparently moving backwards (retrograde), with a pause (station) at each turning point.

Traditional astrology treats direct motion as a mild accidental strength. A direct planet moves "with the grain", in the way nature intends, and its significations proceed in an orderly way. The contrary state, retrograde motion, is a serious debility.

Direct motion is sometimes combined with a second question: how fast is the planet going compared with its average speed? A planet that is direct and faster than average is called swift; one that is slower than average is called slow. Swift is a further strength and slow a further weakness [1].

These are the "mean motions" Lilly gives in his chapters on the individual planets [1]; a planet's actual daily motion varies around them, and "swift" and "slow" are judged against them.

Origin and history

Ancient astronomers explained direct and retrograde motion with combinations of circles, and the Hellenistic astrological texts describe the planets' changing motion in terms of their distance from the Sun. Paulus Alexandrinus describes how the superior planets slow to a first station when about 120° from the Sun, go backwards, and after a second station begin to go forward again, moving faster as they do [2]. He and other Greek writers used the expressions "additive in numbers" and "subtractive in numbers". The translators note that these usually refer to a planet moving faster or slower than its average, rather than simply direct or retrograde, since they are also applied to the Moon, which is never retrograde [2]. Ptolemy describes how the planets' qualities change through the phases from their first appearance to their first station, and from the second station to their disappearance [3].

Dorotheus treats retrograde motion as a source of difficulty [4], which implies the corresponding value of direct motion. The explicit scoring comes later. Lilly defines direction, retrogradation and station in his chapter of definitions, just before his table of fortitudes [1] and, in his table of fortitudes, gives a planet +4 for being direct, adding that for the Sun and Moon the condition is "void", since they are always direct [1]. He gives a further +2 for swift motion and −2 for slow [1].

For the Moon, Lilly adds a note in her chapter: she is never retrograde, but when she is slow, moving less than 13°10′ in 24 hours, she is "equivalent to a retrograde planet" [1].

How it is used

Points on this site. A direct planet scores +2. This is half Lilly's value of +4 [1]. Retrograde scores −5, the same as Lilly's, so on this site the gap between direct and retrograde is 7 points rather than Lilly's 9. The site's score applies the +2 to every direct body, including the Sun and Moon, which Lilly would leave out [1]: the site's engine gives +2 to every body that is not retrograde. The site does not score swift or slow motion.

Why it matters. In horary and electional astrology, the motion of a significator is read as the motion of the matter. A direct planet shows things going forward; a retrograde one shows delay, reversal or return; a stationary one shows a pause or a turning point. In natal work, direct motion is simply the normal condition and is rarely remarked on; it is the retrograde and stationary planets that attract attention.

The station. Just before and after it changes direction, a planet appears almost motionless. Lilly notes that the superior planets are stationary for two, three or four days before retrogradation [1]. A planet that has just turned direct (the "second station") is often read more favourably than one about to turn retrograde, because it is moving towards strength; Paulus's account of the second station, after which the planet speeds up, points the same way [2].

Examples

• Jupiter direct in Sagittarius, moving at its average speed: direct +2 on this site. A normal, unremarkable condition.
• Mars stationary direct, having just finished its retrograde period: direct, but slow. Traditional authors would read this as the start of recovery after a setback.
• The Moon moving 11°50′ in a day: direct (+2 here), but by Lilly's rule slow enough to be treated like a retrograde planet [1].

See also

The opposite condition is described under retrograde.